Sealing means



NOV. 13, J BONNER SEALING MEANS Filed April 15, 1960 r IIII INVENTOR.

JOHN I BONNER l HTTORNE) United States Patent 3,063,280 SEALING MEANSJohn J. Bonner, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor, by mesne assignments, toPhilco Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware FiledApr. 15, 1960, Ser. No. 22,631 3 Claims. (Cl. 68-23) The presentinvention relates generally to means for preventing seepage and escapeof liquid in structures which during normal use are submerged within abody of liquid. More particularly, the invention has to do witharrangements adapted to establish sealing connections betweensubmersible portions of concentrically disposed members, such as theouter and inner shafts employed as supporting and driving members inautomatically controlled cleansing machines of the type wherein aforaminous article-containing basket is enclosed in an imperforateliquid-retaining tub.

One of the main objectives of this invention is to overcome and to solvesealing difficulties and problems which have come about as a result ofthe generally prevailing practice of adding chemically produced moderndetergents or cleansing agents to liquid used in machines for washing orcleaning fabrics.

These difficulties and problems are particularly acute where the seal isbetween submersible portions of concentric shaft structures in which oneshaft member is received within and movable with respect to anothershaft member. Accordingly, another object of the invention is to providea novel and improved sealing arrangement which is especially suited foruse with structure of the kind mentioned above, and which insures aleakproof seal between the concentric shaft members of such a structure.

It is generally known that the addition of modern detergents orcleansing agents to a washing or cleaning liquid produces a solutionwhich is subject to seepage and escape. It is also common knowledge thatsolutions containing modern detergents or cleansing agents chemicallyreact on conventional sealing materials in a manner which reduces andtends'to destroy their ability to resist leakage. For these reasons ithas become necessary in most instances to design and employ complicatedand expensive seal constructions incorporating special and costlysealing materials. Accordingly it is also an object of this invention toprovide a simplified and economical seal arrangement for submersibleportions in a structure of the aforementioned variety, the arrangementbeing adapted to prevent the solution surrounding said portions fromcoming into intimate contact with the seal proper, thus making itpossible to employ ordinary inexpensive sealing materials.

These general objectives as well as other characteristic features andadvantages of the invention are attained by cooperatively associatingsealing material and structural members in a manner providing a chamberfor trapping air below the exposed portion of the sealing material. Inthis way there is established a protective layer of air which opposesand limits the rise of the liquid in the chamber and which maintains thesealing material dry and unaffected by the washing or cleaning solution.In accordance with a preferred embodiment particularly suited forassociation with a driven spin-shaft structure, the member defining theair-trapping chamber is so constructed and arranged that any liquid ormoisture which might adhere to the wall of the chamber is expelledtherefrom in response to spinning of the shaft structure at centrifugingspeed.

The nature of the invention, and its objectives and advantages, will bemore fully understood from the following detailed description based onthe accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational-sectional side view of part of a clotheswashing machine of a type adapted for use with the invention; and

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a sealingarrangement constructed in accordance with the invention andincorporated in the structure of a machine of the type illustrated inFIGURE 1.

It will be understood that a sealing arrangement embodying theprinciples of the present invention is not necessarily limited to use inwashing machines, and also that the illustrated preferred embodiment ofthe invention could be employed in a washing machine havingany one ofvarious conventional forms of agitator means. Thus it is merely by wayof example that FIGURE 1 of the drawing illustrates an automatic Washingmachine with an agitator of the monodirectional wobbling variety.

The illustrated machine is of conventional construction and includes acabinet 10 which houses a non-rotatable imperforate tub 11 having anoutlet drain 12 and enclosing a rotatable foraminous basket 14, thelatter being accessible through the cabinet open top 15 which is closedby means of a hinged cover 16. An agitator structure 18 is mounted formovement within the foraminous basket 14 to wash and rinse clothes inliquid which fills the machine to a predetermined level represented at Lin FIGURE 1, and which is drained after a clothes-washing operation or aclothes-rinsing operation. The basket 14 is mounted for axial rotationat centrifuging speed to effect spin-drying of the clothes.

The various control and driving means for governing the automaticfunctions of the machine and for activating the same through itsconventional schedule of washing, rinsing, and water draining andextracting operations are Well known in the art and, since such meansform no part of this invention, they have not been illustrated andrequire no description herein. However, for a detailed description ofsuch means as well as of the basic construction and over-all operationof a machine of the general type illustrated in FIGURE 1, reference maybe had to United States Patent No. 2,871,689, issued February 3, 1959,to George C. Fields and assigned to Philco Corporation.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a combinationshaft and seal construction in which submersible driven shaft membersand elements for mounting said members incorporate a seal arrangement toprevent the leakage of liquid about said members. For these purposes,the bottom 20 of the non-rotatable tub 11 and the bottom 21 of therotatable basket 14 of the illustrated embodiment are each provided witha central hub 22 and 23 respectively. These hubs, as clearly seen inFIGURE 2, are affixed to the respective bottoms 20 and 21 of the tub andbasket by means of suitable securing elements such as screw-bolts 24,and are constructed for association with the shaft arrangement to mountthe above-mentioned shaft members.

Asshown, the shaft arrangement includes a rotatable agitator shaft 25drivingly connected in the usual manner to the agitator structure 18 anddisposed within a rotatable spin shaft or tube 26 which is enclosedwithin an elongated sleeve 27. This sleeve is fixed on and extendsupwardly from a supporting frame 28 (FIGURE 1) in a lower part of thecabinet 10 and, in particular accordance with the invention, the upperportion of the sleeve 27 passes through the hub 22 of the tub 11 and isanchored to said hub, for example, by means of rivet pins 29.

The tube 26 encased in the sleeve 27 projects upwardly beyond the upperextremity of said sleeve, and the projected portion of said tube isrigidly connected as by means of a spline 30 to the hub 23 of the basket14. Thus said basket and tube constitute a spinning unit which can beand preferably is stabilized by means of side thrust bearings, such asthe one represented at 33, positioned within said sleeve and installedupon the interior surface thereof to encircle said spin tube.

As clearly seen in FIGURE 2, the seal arrangement of this inventionincludes an upwardly directed extension 36 of the sleeve 27, adownwardly directed cylindrical flange or skirt 38 depending from thehub 23 of the basket 14 and overlapping the sleeve extension 36, and anannular band of sealing material 40 interposed between the exteriorsurface of said extension 36 and the interior surface of said flange orskirt 38. As shown, the extension 36 projects for an appreciabledistance above the hub 22 and the tub 11, and the band of sealingmaterial 40 is fixed in a retaining ring 41 carried by said skirt in aposition where-a ridge 42 of said material frictionally engages andsnugly bears upon said extension in close proximity to the upperextremity thereof.

The skirt 38, in turn, projects below the location of the sealingmeterial 40 and terminates close to the upper face of the hub 22, sothat the clearance 43 betweenthe con-- fronting surface areas of, saidhub and of the lower extremities of the: skirt 38 is reduced to aminimum. By

reason ofthe above-described arrangement, the band of sealing material40 cooperates with said sleeve extension 36 and with said skirt 38 todefine. an air-trapping chamher-44. Thus it will be-understood that,when liquid flows into said chamber 44 from the tubv 11 through theclearance 43, air is trapped below the band of sealingmaterial 40,andthat the layer of trapped air prevents liquid from rising in saidchamber. Accordingly as represented in FIGURE 2,- the liquid present inthe chamber 44 is maintained at level L which is well below the band ofsealing material 40 so that the latter remains dry and unaffected bysaid-liquid.

As shown in FIGUREZ, the inner wall of the flange or skirt38-is slantedto flare outwardly and downwardly toward the terminal'end thereof. Inthis mannenliquid or condensation which may attach itself to theinterior surfaces of=said flange or skirt in the vicinity of the band ofsealing material 40 is centrifugally'ejected during spinning ofthebasket.

Although a preferred embodimenthas'been shown and described, it will berecognized that the invention is not limited to the specific'structureof this embodiment, but

embraces such changes and variations as come within the scope of thesubjoined claims.

Iclaim:

1. In a submersible shaft-and-seal arrangement, the combination of arotatable shaft, a stationary sleeve encircling said shaft, a skirtmember carried by said shaft to rotate therewith and'encirclingsaidsleeve to rotate with respect thereto, said skirtmember defining achamber within which fluid-is received when said arrangement issubmerged, and an annular band of sealing material interposed betweenthe interior'surface of said chamber and the exterior surface of saidsleeve and cooperating with said surfaces to trap air in said chamberbelow said band, said interior surface of said chamber below said bandbeing slanted to flare outwardly and downwardly from said band.

2. A shaft-and-seal arrangement for a liquid-retaining tub having abasket devised to rotate therein, said arrangement comprising a firsthub adapted to be affixed to the bottom of said tub, a second hubadapted to be afiixed to the bottom of said basket, said second hubbeing positioned above and coaxially with respect to said first hub, arotatable shaft passing through said first hub and affixed to saidsecond hub to rotate the same, a sleeve encircling said shaft andaflixed to said first hub, said sleeve having an extension projectingupwardly from said first hub and terminating adjacent said second hub, askirt member encircling said sleeve extension and affixed to said secondhub, said skirt member projecting downwardly from said second hub andterminating adjacent said first hub, and an annular band of sealingmaterial interposed between the interior surface of said skirt memberand the exterior surface of said extension, said band of sealingmaterial and said surfaces cooperating to define an air trapping;chamber below said band, said interior surface of said chamber. belowsaid band being slanted to flare outwardly and downwardly toward theterminating end ofsaid skirt member. p

3. A shaft-and-seal arrangementfor a liquid-retaining tub having abasket devised to rotate therein, said arrangement comprising arotatable shaft adapted to extend through the bottom of said tub and tobe. connected to the bottom of said basket to rotate the same, astationary sleeve encircling said shaft and having an extensionconstructed and arranged to project upwardly from said bottom of saidtub and to terminate adjacent said bottom of said basket, a skirt memberencircling said extension, said skirt member being constructed andarranged to project downwardly from said bottom of said basket and toterminate adjacent said bottom of said tub, and a band of sealingmaterial interposed between the interior surface ofsaid skirt memberand'the exterior surface of said extension and cooperating wit-h saidsurfaces to define an air trapping chamber below said band, saidinterior surface of said chamber below said band being slanted to flareoutwardly and downwardly from said band.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,699,770 V,oss t Jan. 22, 1929 1,832,352 Behan Nov. 17, 1931 1,853,993Paquette Apr. 12, 1932 2,067,572 Kirby- Jan. 12, 1937 2,275,680 MyersMar. 10, 1942 2,605,628 Smith Aug. 5, 1952 2,647,772 Wernert Aug. 4,1953 2,667,776 Kortepeter et a1 Feb. 2, 1954 2,709,908 Altorfer June 7,1955v 2,871,689 Fields Feb. 3, 1959

